Bristol Rovers manager Inigo Calderon praised teenage prospect Kofi Shaw after his star role in a stunning 3-2 victory over promotion-chasing Bolton.
The 18-year-old has been linked with Aston Villa and Leeds and showed why with an impressive performance alongside veteran striker Chris Martin, earning the early penalty that set the tone for a pulsating contest.
Calderon said: “If we are going to say they are going to be the next (Lionel) Messi or (Diego) Maradona then we have a problem, we have to give them time.
“So, I don’t want to give too much credit to Kofi because I want to protect him. We cannot rush things and we have to make sure he enjoys his football.
“But he showed he is a clever player, the penalty was down to his quick thinking and I was hoping if the ball was going to drop to anyone it would be him.
“Physically he is not the strongest player in the world, but he is one of those players who make up for not being the strongest by being quicker mentally and then he has quality on the ball.”
Calderon expressed pride in his team’s overall performance.
“It was a great match, I was so proud of the boys and the way they responded to setbacks,” the Spaniard added.
“We were up against a team fighting for promotion but our passion and heart made all the difference.
“We showed them too much respect in the first half but then we showed more of a front-foot mentality and good things happen.”
Centre-back Connor Taylor secured Rovers a dramatic victory when he headed in Isaac Hutchinson’s free-kick on 88 minutes.
Martin had put Rovers ahead with a fifth-minute penalty following Alex Murphy’s foul on Shaw. Aaron Morley drove in the equaliser from 15 yards but Martin restored the lead from Hutchinson’s cross.
John McAtee nodded in Morley’s near-post corner before Taylor had the final say.
Bolton manager Steven Schumacher refused to be downhearted as the Trotters’ six-match unbeaten run was halted.
“We’ve played great, the performance was good so there’s no big drama,” Schumacher said.
“The players’ energy and quality in the first half was excellent and in the second half we got into brilliant areas and probably won’t create as many chances, but we just haven’t taken them and we’ve been punished.
“We’ve got a huge game against Stockport at the weekend and tonight is a missed opportunity to go above them and give ourselves some momentum, but I won’t get too down about it.
“We’ve just got to take those chances. Aaron had an excellent chance, John McAtee was through one-on-one and he’s got to hit the target, and how Szabolcs Schon misses from a yard out I’ll never know.
“If we’d got in front I’m not sure they would have come back but then they got ahead and had something to hang on for.
“The players have shown they’ve got the quality and the character to get back into games so it’s not big deal. We’ve been on a brilliant run and so it’s no big drama.”
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